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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · bulb · dip · clip · wind · tear · scale · face

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. clip — a video
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. clip — for paper
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rock — music
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — for light
  20. tear — to rip
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bulb — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com